Disney+ and Netflix increased their coverage of sports by 471% and nearly 100%, respectively

Amazon Prime US Open

According to a report from Gracenote (the content data business unit of Nielsen), SVODs including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix and Paramount+, significantly grew their sports programming over the last quarter.

Collectively, SVODs increased sports programming by more than 72% in that time, demonstrating the value of sports as a driver of live, real-time viewership

Sports programming on streamers included exclusive NFL games, WWE RAW events, US Open tennis tournament matches and more.

Those bolstering their sports programming were led by Disney+ and Netflix, with increases of 471% and nearly 100%, respectively.

A dramatic increase in sports programming on Disney+ was largely the result of adding select ESPN programming.

Disney+ now accounts for nearly 33% of available sports programming, just behind Amazon (35%), which previously distributed 54% of sports programming. Netflix accounts for just over 23% of sports programming.

Apple TV+ didn’t increase its sports content in the recent quarter, but will soon cover the MLS and MLB seasons, including live games airing on the service.

Bill Michels, chief product officer at Gracenote, said: “Live sports programming continues to be an important driver of user growth, retention and engagement for streaming services. We are also seeing that relevant metadata, such as synopses, scores, highlights and imagery have the power to help streamers build world-class user experiences that keep users engaged beyond the live game.”